Passing Phrase - www.learnhebrew.org.il

Bechol RaMac’h Eivarav

Literally: With all of this 248 organs
Idiomatically: With all his heart

First let’s begin with the word "RaMaCh." In "gematria" (Hebrew numeric equivalents of the letters), the word equals 248 and refers to the 248 organs in the body according to the Talmud (Ohalot 1:8). The most famous "gematria" is "Chai" - the letter "Chet" (with a numeric value of 8) plus "Yud" (10) equals 18. People donate multiples of 18 to bring them “life” or good luck. "Ramach" (248) both stands for organs in the body and also stands for the number of positive commandments in the Torah. The phrase itself is also Talmudic (Eruvin 53b) relating to Bruria, the wife of Rabbi Meir and quite a scholar in her own right. She chided a student who was whispering his lessons telling him “Im arucha BeRaMach eivarim shelcha mishtameret…" - “If you put in all your 248 limbs (your efforts), you will absorb the lesson. (But if not, the lesson will not be preserved.)” Today the meaning is the same as "Hu Hishkiya balimudim bechol RaMac’h Eivarav" - he invested in his studies with all his heart. I would be happy if my kids would lift a finger to do their homework.

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